The Kaanapali Ocean Resort Charitable Trust presents its $40,000 donation to Puko‘a hina‘ole. PHOTO BY UHMC.

KAANAPALI — The Kaanapali Ocean Resort Charitable Trust (KORCT) recently donated $40,000 to the University of Hawaii Maui College Water Quality Lab. The funding will be used to purchase a peristaltic pump for filtering seawater; a laboratory furnace for combustion of bottles; and general laboratory supplies for operations and analysis of nutrients, biological oxygen demand, E.coli and total suspended solids.

The donation will also fund a student internship in the lab. The lab — named Puko’a hina’ole in Hawaiian — is run by Dr. Andrea Kealoha.

Born and raised in Paia and a graduate of King Kekaulike High School, she holds a B.S. in Global Environmental Science from UH Manoa, an M.S. in Marine Science from Hawaii Pacific University and a Ph.D. in Oceanography from Texas A&M University.

Her research focuses on climate change and other human stressors to coral reef ecosystems.

And she happened to be in the right place at the right time to conduct research during the pandemic. That place is Kahekili Beach Park, near the Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility injection wells.

Given the wastewater infrastructure improvements and the dramatic reduction in tourism, Kealoha had an unprecedented opportunity to investigate the potential positive impacts of improved water quality on coral reef health and resilience at the beach park that fronts the Kaanapali Ocean Resort.

KORCT is invested in preserving the health of its local reef and supports efforts in this area from mauka to makai.

“When we found out that Andrea’s work was happening literally in our backyard, we were eager to participate and get our homeowners involved,” said Kaanapali Ocean Resort General Manager Ryan Nobriga.

Kealoha also believes “this is a great opportunity to involve the homeowners, and especially their children, in learning to care for our ocean.”

Established in 2020, Puko’a hina’ole is Maui’s only water lab despite the many rules and regulations requiring many farms, businesses and other operations to regularly test the quality of their water.

Prior to that time, samples had to be flown to Honolulu — often on ice and within hours of collection.